Chris Brown's Apology -- Are You Buying It?

By
Liz Kelly

Chris Brown is sorry for the delay in publicly apologizing for roughing up then-girlfriend Rihanna back in February, but don't blame him. It's the lawyers, he says in a two-minute video posted to YouTube, MySpace, his own Web site and blasted out to media outlets Tuesday afternoon. Brown, who pleaded guilty to a felony in exchange for community service and five years of probation in June, says he's been ready to apologize for months:

I'm sure this thing keeps the guy up nights, but I have to wonder about his motivation for posting an online apology five months after the fact. If Brown was truly regretful for roughing up his girlfriend, is posting a Webby mea culpa truly helpful? Or is it a desperate move in an attempt to forestall his quickly-dimming, once-bright future?

Ken Noyes, executive director of the D.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence, says that while his organization applauds a batterer willing to take responsibility for his actions, Brown's sincerity is hard to determine.

"In situations where public apologies are issued it is difficult to determine sincerity," said Noyes in a statement. "Given the media scrutiny surrounding his violent assault, Chris Brown’s intentions in making this latest public statement should be questioned."

Brown has talked in the past about witnessing the domestic abuse of his mother as a child, so he surely knows that it can take years for a victim to fully recover from abuse and even longer (if ever) for the abuser to re-program his or her impulses and quell the urge to resort to violence. And since February (despite some public support from people like Diddy and "SNL's" Kenan Thompson) Brown was persona non grata at June's BET Awards.

So is a two-minute video enough to push Brown onto the career rehab road?

No, says Christine Colbert, a publicist with New York's Magnum PR agency, which reps mostly music acts including The Verve, Portishead and Prodigy.

"Apologizing to the public for his behavior is an obvious move and one that is necessary to redeem himself in the eyes of his fans and the public in general," says Colbert. "But this video apology comes a bit late and [too] scripted to be viewed as sincere."

don't buy this at all. a big bunch of hot air, done to try and salvage his career. if he'd really been sorry, he would have said so immediately and never mind what the lawyers say. it's all about doing the right thing and he did not. and why make it public? it's a private matter and should have been handled as such.
years ago i was involved with a case where a parish priest molested 3 young brothers. at some point, the bishop for the diocese was deposed and asked why no apology. he said "the lawyers said not to say anything" and the lawyer questioning him asked "don't you answer to a higher source"? flattened the bishop who later, btw, was tried for a felony hit and run. he killed a man and fled the scene, trying to say later that he thought he hit a dog. his entire windshield was smashed to smithereens. they made him resign. complete loser. just like chris brown.

"Apologizing to the public for his behavior is an obvious move and one that is necessary to redeem himself in the eyes of his fans and the public in general, ut this video apology comes a bit late and [too] scripted to be viewed as sincere," says, Christine Colbert, PR flack for Magnum, a firm that Chris clearly didn't hire.

What I'm not buying is what Christine Colbert is selling. She's selling PR, not redemption, healing or justice. And PR advice is the last thing Chris Brown needs.

The video is "too late" because he lawyers were trying to keep him out of jail.

If it's "too scripted" it's probably because he's got some other PR flack (not Magnum!) writing the script for him. Tell me Ms. Colbert wouldn't have done the same had he been her client.

Here's some better advice-- Chris, take your money, settle down and find a good therapist. If you want to be in this game for the long haul, you need to work on yourself, not your career. If you jump back into being a star before you fix yourself, you'll wind up back where you are right now.

Up until now, Chris has gotten by in life on that lucky thing that some people have: a natural ability to do something outstandingly well. It's time for Chris to join the rest of us slugs who have to perfect something we're not good at to begin with. Let's see if he can do that.

I have a feeling that I will be in the minority here, but in this world, most people find it significantly easier to blame the victim and avoid responsibility -- and have lawyers to hide behind constantly and fans who often forgive way too easily.

With that in mind, I give Chris Brown credit for taking the guts to fess up to what he did, enabling us to all stop speculating ad nauseam about who did what and actually move on to other things. (O.J., I'm looking at you, pal.)

Was the video a bit calculated? Probably (exactly two minutes?!). But regardless of how sincere he may/may not appear to be, I applaud the guy for being so blatant with his admission of guilt. He has a long way to go before he can move on and expect fans to welcome him back. But it's a step in the right direction.

He honestly couldn't apologize sooner. If he had, the prosecutor would have used that in court against him. He would have been facing jail time. Maybe an apology was the right thing to do, but it was not the sensible thing to do when facing criminal charges. I don't do criminal law and I represent the victims. But, I get why the apology didn't happen.

Plus, they always apology AFTERWARDS. It's getting them to be sorry and not do it beforehand that is the hard part.

epjd - that's exactly the point...
if he had said 'yeah - i did this - and it was wrong' then of course there would have been fallout - but that's called paying for your crimes. He was in the process of claiming he was NOT GUILTY right up to the plea... you dont get to go there, then plea, then say 'yeah, i did it... but gosh i'm so very sorry'. Well you can - but there's certainly nothing admirable about that. If you chop down the cherry tree you own up to it... that's how I was raised. Obviously Chris doesnt have that kind of character - which really shouldnt surprise anyone since he beat the crap out of his girlfriend. No - he's scum - his contrived apology is at least pathetic and certainly borderline offensive, and imo the world would be a marginally better place without people like him in it (though i'll grant that there's a long list there and he's nowhere near the top of it).

well, as a lawyer, I have to say I would not have wanted him saying anything until the court case was resolved. If he had intended to go to trial, exhibit 1 for the prosecution would be a video of him saying he is sorry.

That doesn't mean he is lying like a rug right now and is not sorry at all, but if you were him, you'd want to listen to your defense lawyers.

I would like to endorse Liz' scraping the bottom of the barrel. I think that is what Celebritology is all about. If celebs were all upstanding citizens, kind to their mothers and their own children (but not TOO kind) what would we have to discuss?

Of course I believe him. I'm just sorry I don't have a Twitter account so I could have gotten his apology as breaking news... oh...sorry, five months ago? Well, I'm sure he was simply so overwhelmed with grief and regret that he... that he... that he, uh... I don't know; I'm sure he's busy and stuff and it the apology simply fell through the cracks, but it's not a big deal because she still loves him and everything. Right? It wasn't like he did anything really really wrong like talking on his cell phone while driving or anything.

By the way. Did anyone see if he also apologized for the South Carolina governor's missteps too? After all, Mr. Brown's apology was simply so, so, so... well, you know, I just figured it could be used for a multiple of people needing apologies.

Chris Brown is a kid (19/20-years-old). He made a mistake unlike Eminem (rapper), Charlie Sheen (actor), Jack Nicholson (actor), Axel Rose (guns ‘n roses), Sean Penn (actor), Mickey Rourke (2009 Oscar winner), Tommy Lee(rock star), Josh Brolin (actor), Rob Lowe (actor. Why was there not this human outcry against these ADULT MEN when they had MULTIPLE fights with MULTIPLE women in some cases? GET OFF THIS KIDS BACK and stop stressing him out. Give him a chance to grow!

The man hit his girlfriend. It's not important whether or not she's famous. What's important is that he does the time for the crime he committed and that he stays away from her.

I personally don't buy his apology. It's too little, too late. I'm glad his career is in trouble over this. It should be just like any other person's career would be. You can't beat people and expect to get away with it.

Apologizing and accepting responsibility are certainly steps in the right direction, and that should be reinforced. However, a common pattern of abuse is: abuse -> apology -> honeymoon period -> abuse again. It'd be great if he gets involved in helping himself and other abusers break the cycle.

But I think we're far more sensitive to the issue now than we were before. Chris is at a crossroads. If we let him go his own way, what's to say he won't repeat history? I think that's why there's such scrutiny.

Ugh!! I hate that everytime I google Chris Brown your hateful post pops up. Like every hour it pops up to the top of the inquiry list and it's really annoying because they post is truly disgusting and filled with horrible hate. Liz I don't know what has happened in your life to make you so bitter but I pray that the same God that will be reforming Chris will also reform you because you need it. This young man is taking full responsibilty for his mistake and has admitted that to the World. When was the last time you apologized not only to someone you wronged, but millions of other people who you don't know and who don't know all of the details of your situation. He is definitely moving in the right direction and I completely accept his apology. If you don't then too bad all he can do is continue to be positive and live his life in a way that will make everyone proud. He will learn from this, grow from this, become better as a result of this and bounce back from this b/c he has the favor of God! You people want to do to him what you did to Michael and that's not going to happen. And the Christine PR person that you're speaking of is very incorrect in her analysis this apology happenend at the RIGHT time and take it from an Advertising Exec and former Market Researcher he will be just fine. The apology was of course written b/c there was a lot that needed to be said, but the sincerity of it was very evident. Go spew your hate somewhere else, I'm sure you never bought any of his CD's anyway. I just wish both him and Rihanna the best, they're kids for God's sake!!

You people kill me. If Chris Brown didn't issue a statement or attempt to apologize, you all would be upset and now that he has you all are still not satisfied. If he doesn't say what you all want to hear then he isn't being sincere. If he doesn't say directly that he beat her, then it's all BS. But why? You all are acting as Chris Brown is the first man to put his hands on a woman wrongly, and I'm sorry to say this but I don't if he will be the last. Chris Brown could not say anything earlier due to his lawyer and the trial. This just upsets me. People realize that Chris Brown is only HUMAN. All people make mistakes, but we as "normal" people put celebrities at a higher status than human. If we didn't, we wouldn't be going through this. I feel like Chris Brown did this at a good time, after it had cooled off a little. I believe that Chris Brown means this apology, and you also have to think about this. Chris Brown does not owe us an apology because he didn't do anything to us. Ever thought about that?

You people kill me. If Chris Brown didn't issue a statement or attempt to apologize, you all would be upset and now that he has you all are still not satisfied. If he doesn't say what you all want to hear then he isn't being sincere. If he doesn't say directly that he beat her, then it's all BS. But why? You all are acting as Chris Brown is the first man to put his hands on a woman wrongly, and I'm sorry to say this but he won't be the last. Chris Brown could not say anything earlier due to his lawyer and the trial. This just upsets me. People realize that Chris Brown is only HUMAN. All people make mistakes, but we as "normal" people put celebrities at a higher status than human. If we didn't, we wouldn't be going through this. I feel like Chris Brown did this at a good time, after it had cooled off a little. I believe that Chris Brown means this apology, and you also have to think about this. Chris Brown does not owe us an apology because he didn't do anything to us. Ever thought about that?

epjd and egengle are right. I *have* done some criminal defense and I would have given my client the same advice. I promise you I would have had a kitten - a large one - if a client of mine apologized in public before the trial. (Don't do defense any more, it was too emotionally draining. Now I draft piles of complicated contracts. Yay.)

I think it's hard to judge his sincerity. And nonpareil is right too about the pattern of abuse. Since his mom was abused, Chris has been in this pattern for a long, long time. So, I second mdreaders very good advice to get into therapy pronto and work on this issue and keep on working til he comes out the otherside a decent man. It is possible to do that.

I'm sure that he is sorry for what he did, and I don't fault him for listening to his lawyers' advice and waiting until his criminal case is resolved.

However, the fact that he is sorry doesn't really mean much. It does not excuse what he did; does not mean that he has truly accepted responsibility for changing his behavior patterns; does not mean that he won't do it again; and does not mean that it should be forgotten. Committing abuse isn't a "mistake." It will take a whole heck of a lot of work for him to change who he is.

If he wants to move on, he has to do that work for himself, not for his career. And when he can start showing that he is doing that, and really doing work to address the root causes of domestic violence, that will be something worth noting. But just being sorry...well, so what?

I think that forgiveness is what makes us, as humans, heroic. People hold on to that like a miser and they dispense of it like a hypocrite.

Chris Brown did a heinous thing; a terrible thing. Was it unforgivable? Why should it be in that category? He’s young. If you’re determined to believe what he has done is so terrible that it cannot be forgiven? What are you suggesting? That someone cannot be sorry for their actions? They cannot apologize in the manner that they have because that manner isn’t good enough for you?

This is why people forgo saying sorry to begin with, because why say it and mean it if you’re going to be criticized as a faker? Might as well not say it at all.

Chris Brown is young enough to change and if you want to make a difference in his life you give him this forgiveness this one time. You say that you believe he can change. Because if you do not you will be the partial cause for him staying the course as an abuser because who is giving him the public (that matters because he is a public figure) encouragement to change? I see plenty of people giving him the encouragement to stay the same.

It’s disgusting that a people cannot accept the apology. They have so much anger that they can’t hear when someone says sorry nor can they accept it because they are being hypocritical and a miser in their forgiveness. What authority do they have to state that they are better than Chris Brown? That they never hit a woman? Sure. But can these people state they’ve never, ever done something that they felt so terrible for? That they said sorry and meant it, but knew that sorry was not good enough? No, they cannot. Everyone has done something that would put them in that position. It might not be as terrible, but it is as painful to yourself and made you feel as if sorry was not good enough, but it’s not about it being good enough. It’s about being humble enough to utter it because not many people do.

Chris Brown has done so.

Now do you want to be the person that never had a hand in changing anyone or someone that had a hand in helping someone reach that goal to change? Because how often do we get a chance to help someone change from being bad to good so openly? Chris Brown is that person. Allow him this single chance to prove that he can change. If he breaks this one and only chance, then there is enough backing to be totally upset with him. Allow him to have the want and the will to change by encouraging him in a positive fashion instead of in an angry hypocritical one.

My dad was abused by his father. His father has NEVER said sorry. Right now he is not doing well and my dad went to him and helped him. He could have been the smaller person and denied him help and allowed him to suffer, but that is not how my dad works. He does not have that anger. Do not facilitate a Chris Brown that could turn into someone like my dad’s father. Give him this chance to change. Forgive him.

Asking whether he is sincere or not is the wrong question. Batterers are frequently sincere when they apologize. And they frequently apologize profusely. And then they go on to batter again. The right question is, will he batter again? And that's one that no one knows the answer to. Hopefully, with a lot of work on understanding the roots of his violent tendencies, he can overcome them, but this is a long-term process and I doubt another woman is safe with him in the meanwhile.

J_Jammer, not sure to whom you are responding, but my point is this - he can change, but being sorry, even sincerely so, isn't the same as changing. Only time will tell if he's really committed to changing himself or not.

I'd buy his apology if he was my friend and we had a fight about something...but I'm a man who used to box and get in fights with other men.

He bashed in a woman's face over nothing. So, I do NOT buy it. Domestic violence is too often taken lightly or written off...its not the same thing as two friends getting into a fight over a girl or a bet. Its a man beating the crap out of his woman...and thats a whole 'nother ballpark!

Hrmm, Chris is doing what he is supposed to do when he is a high profile artist. But whether or not he's actually serious about that in his heart only God knows.

Why should fans care one way or another when we are all sinful people and do things not so cool at times in our lives?

I just hope and wish the young man the best and that he learns from what he's done. Rihanna is not totally out of the woods on this one in my opinion either. She could have every well pushed his buttons. The way she's been looking lately is as if she has a snotty attitude when around certain people, crowds or just different times in public. I wouldn't put it past her that she pricks that boy more than he would have liked it.

At any rate, they both need to grow up...and Jay-Z needs to stop acting like he is going to beat Chris up for what he did. Jay ain't no saint either.

I think Chris Brown is 100% sincere in his apology to Rihanna and his fans. It never ceases to amaze me how judgmental Americans are. This boy (he was only 19 yrs. old at the time) made a huge mistake, one in which I'm sure he has come to regret more with each day that passes. I don't think anyone can lay claim to being perfect. Let this young man atone for his mistakes and move on with his life.

perhaps you all dont remember michael vick accepting jesus as his lord and savior and asking forgiveness... after brutalizing and torturing dozens of animals - including using live cats as 'bait' for his dogs on their treadmills... so what if he asked for god's forgiveness... that's for god - not me. In the mean time i'm just going to call it like i see it.

what a magical fairyland some people live in

this dude BEAT the CRAP outta her
if you remember - the weeks after the event he was out partying and acting like he didnt do anything wrong

but now he's sorry

yes - i'm VERY sure his lawyers told him not to apologize - just as i'm VERY sure his PR people drafted this up for him. The word here is 'sleazebag' - if it had been anyone without money he'd be in jail making nice with Big Ed. He's not a 'reformed hero' - there's nothing remotely admirable about this jerk - not in what he did and not in him making this contrived and pathetic apology - and hopefully people are smart enough to see through his self-serving tripe for what it is.

Of course, they're not (as we've seen today by all our new friends). Man - where's a good 'leave lilo alone' when you need it....

BTW, where were all you people when he was facing criminal charges? Were you down at the courthouse defending him? Were you having long, heart to heart conversations with him about why beating someone is wrong? Or do you, like the rest of us, not even the know the guy and only know what you read in the fan magazines about him? Try getting your news from somewhere other than the Chrisbrown.com website. Hint -- the Daily Show is NOT a news show.

I think Chris Brown is 100% sincere in his apology to Rihanna and his fans. It never ceases to amaze me how judgmental Americans are. This boy (he was only 19 yrs. old at the time) made a huge mistake, one in which I'm sure he has come to regret more with each day that passes.

Posted by: torins71 | July 21, 2009 2:17 PM | Report abuse

Oh, brother. Are you a mind reader and a fortune teller. He's a grown man. Sheesh!

Agree, time will tell. I chose "I don't know". I like to believe the best of people and that they really will change. Because of what are esteemed Lizard Legal team has told us, it is understandable why the "public" apology was delayed. What 19yo wants to go to jail? He screwed up bigtime, maybe deserves to go, but he was undoubtedly scared witless and did what he was told at that point. I hope that he learned this lesson early and it will never happen again. I hope he gets the help he needs. Yes I agree with taking responsibility and all, but how many of you would really say "ok, send me to jail without a trial, I did it"? Yup, it's a BKD day!

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see, i told u guyz. linsey is awsum, doing well, even the judje is saying so. all the stuff that is the news and magazines is bc of the paparrrazi which is all lies and hates linsey and dina. linsey is a gr8 actrs and dina is a ecxellent mom to linsey and me.

Who made the good white folk judge and jury? Why is Chris Brown now the poster child for domestic abuse? If Liz was so concern about black on black volience her blogs would focus more on crimes committed daily in the communities. Liz like many other white folk dont give a damm about Chris or Rihanna their just racist in hiding without the white hood. Liz only concern is to derail Chris Brown career. Whether its a black artist or sport figure the majority of white folk especially the poor cant stand to see these blackmen earn a decent living. Stop pretending like you care about domestic and lets focus on all the crazy white folk with guns killing their family and co-workers cause they cant handle life.

I don't doubt his lawyers held him back. Criminal defense law can be kind of screwed up like that.

And I want to think he has the capacity to be truly horrified at himself, after seeing what his own mother went through. But as nonpareil_b5 notes, it's hard to take an abuser's apologies at face value, because you never know if it's just another part of the cycle.

I think volunteering for a domestic abuse hotline or similar service would demonstrate sincere remorse, and it might remind him of the impact abuse has on its victims.

Posted by: epjd | July 21, 2009 2:25 PM
"BTW ...Try getting your news from somewhere other than the Chrisbrown.com website. Hint -- the Daily Show is NOT a news show."

We get our news here, at Celebritology, same as you epjd.

Further posting by: epjd-
"where were all you people when he was facing criminal charges? Were you down at the courthouse defending him? Were you having long, heart to heart conversations with him about why beating someone is wrong?"

I am at a loss to respond to this because it is such an assinine, totally unrealistic question.

One sick puppy. Will a few months of probation get him to really change? Hopefully his victim will testify in the trial and not tearfully forgive him, as is, sadly, the case in too many abuse cases. But, of course,he's a celebrity and some fans won't care what he did, or always believe he's innocent. Lenient sentences, if any, for celebrities are the norm (e.g., OJ Simpson, Robert Blake, Michael Jordan).

brown entered his plea on june 22, 2009, almost 1 month ago. this "apology" should have been ready to go at that time. the delay of a month to film and release a 2 minute piece of nothing is ridiculous.
people keep calling him a boy, young, whatever. he's an adult. he may be immature and a fool, but he's an adult. to me, a defense lawyer should have looked at an apology much sooner than now and worked it into the plea deal. prosecutors look kindly on people accepting responsiblity. if they're trying 10 year olds as adults for murder in this country, and they are, he's an adult. not a boy.
and just because he might be sorry, doesn't mean he gets his recording career back or whatever else he might want. just like michael vick may be sorry doesn't mean he gets to play football again. there is a sense of entitlement here that's offensive to me.

This isn't the first time this slug has beat on a woman. And it won't be the last. Violence toward women is fundamental to hip-hop/rap culture and why women, especially black women, don't jump and and shout 'stop! enough!' is one of life's mysteries.

"I am personally glad that he noted he is 100 percent at fault, a strong message to his fans who still defend him, blame the media or suggest she "deserved" it."

Thanks for pointing that out. I was amazed at the number of people who said those very things, especially the girls & women who did.

"only time will tell if his apology is sincere."
Exactly. It was a HUGE mistake but who hasn't made those? The question is do you really learn from your mistake and do better? Or do you simply fake the funk and continue as you were?

I believe he really is sorry. But the reason he is doing this is because it's public humiliation. And the fact that it is public is ruining his career which is not coming back...ever. He might end up wasted some time in the future. They'll do a "Where are they now?" show with him looking like a has-been bum. It's actually quite sad.

I find that people only apologize, after they are caught, if they are never caught or exposed they will keep on keeping on. If they are sorry they would not have done whatever they did in the first place, also Michael Vick, and the senator as well as other's

Now Rihanna beat Chris but people as usual are sucked in to the lie. Rihanna served in the Military and knows how to protect herself. As a young girl she beat a bigger boy so bad but wasn't charged. Now Chris knows he should have walked away but with Rihanna fighting him he fought back. As for those so called Facial injuries one might take a look at the wheele of the car and the circle on her face. Oprah used Chris as the poster boy while protecting Rihanna. Rihanna will attack her next boyfriend and again the public will believe her lies. This is a lesson to young men who think girls are honest. Chris will recover but should learn to say away from girls who are sicko.

Of COURSE he had to wait because his lawyers told him to. Are you kidding me when you say you don't believe that? You're not supposed to talk about a case until its conclusion; it's just basic, and to deny that is way too cynical, even for this skeptical chick.

We are too quick to judge. We don't even know the full circumstances surrounding the assault.

Of COURSE he had to wait because his lawyers told him to. Are you kidding me when you say you don't believe that? You're not supposed to talk about a case until its conclusion; it's just basic, and to deny that is way too cynical, even for this skeptical chick.

We are too quick to judge. We don't even know the full circumstances surrounding the assault.

First of all Chris, we still love you and Rhianna. I am proud that you made your apologies. From this point, you can move forward. Don't worry about the nay-sayers, it’s so easy for them to cast stones. They aren't perfect either. We all make mistakes we wish we could take back at one time or another in our lives and everyone deserves a second chance. My advice to you is to Be True to You. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, move forward in a positive way and get back to sharing the gift God gave you with the world. We missed you at the BET awards. Your tribute to Michael would have been phenomenal.

RIHANNA ATTACKED HER BROTHER WITH A GLASS BOTTLER+B sensation RIHANNA knows how to look after herself - she once smacked her brother in the face with a glass bottle. The Umbrella hitmaker, who was schooled at Barbados' famous Cadet Corps, admits she was a terrible sister to her two younger brothers when she was growing up. She tells Complex magazine, "We talk all the time now, but we used to fight - and when I say fight, I don't mean arguments; I mean physically fight. "I hit the older one (brother) in the face with a glass bottle... My mom was pretty upset."